The Alternative
by Unillustrated
Summary: Minato found the very concept of Jinchuuriki abhorrent. At best, the art resulted in a child being forced to carry a burden that no one could possibly deserve. At worst, a monster every bit as dangerous as the Tailed Beasts could be created. Sadly, there was no other way to reliably protect a village from the rampage of the Beasts. So he found an alternative. Dark AU
1. Chapter 1

Kushina screamed.

In her wordless howl was all the rage, all the defiance and fear and unflagging, relentless will that had made her one of the most feared ninja of the Leaf. With that will, made manifest as great, shining chains, she restrained the Beast that would harm the ones she loved, her husband and newborn son. In a way, it was what she had always done, what she was for.

The great fox bellowed, its rage spread out across the land. All across the Elemental Nations, sleepers tossed and turned. Come morning, they would wake from troubled dreams, unable or unwilling to remember the fear that had come upon them in the night.

Miles away, those ninja with an unusual sensitivity to chakra signatures, Sensors, fell to the ground as if seized by some sort of epileptic fit. Within the village below, the fox's hate was a palpable thing. It pressed down upon the inhabitants like some terrible weight. Civilian or shinobi, everyone felt it and was struck down in a moment. Some of their number, especially among the weakest, the elderly, the sick and the infants, would never rise again.

The Nine Tailed Fox was a being composed of power and hate, unique in this world. Thank any god you choose for that.

Minato did not feel fear. Despite the sensation of his wife's flickering chakra, weakening as her life faded, his focus was on the motion of his hands as he finished the technique he had never wanted to use. Despite the wound in his side, deep enough to threaten his survival, a memento from the masked stranger who had unleashed this upon them before he had driven the man off, his focus was on the infant at his feet.

Minato had never wanted this day to come but he had seen its possibility, had created plans and contingencies and in the planning he had decided. Once the course was set there was no time for fear or regret. That was how he had lived his life, with plans and focus and determination, without regret.

It was done.

Some... something answered. It was immense and dark and terrible and none of those things, like the gap between action and result, like... Minato could not understand it. The thing was too much, too alien. He felt a sense of- of acceptance from it. The bargain was set.

A piece of it was thrust out, into and through him, linking them. It hurt, hurt terribly. It struck the Nine Tails and... it struck his son. For a moment, they were all connected. Minato did not feel regret. This had been decided. The feeling of connection twisted and the fox, that thing of hate and terror, was drawn into...

A stream of red, a feeling of power passed through him and into the newborn, taking something from Minato as it passed. It left a mark on his son, an infinitely complex symbol on his stomach. He felt weak, fell to his stomach. There was little time left but enough for one more thing.

There had to be.

Minato reached out, laid his trembling hand upon the head of his son.

Kushina watched, too weak to move.

Unseen, too injured to continue his battle with the Hokage, a man wearing an orange mask watched as well. He had barely enough energy to hold himself apart from the world, safe within the confines of his eye's power. Even if he could have, he would not have intervened. He told himself this again and again.

The Fourth Hokage fell to the ground, dying, his life forfeit to the bargain he had struck. The forbidden technique had sealed the fox within his son, tied their lives together. While one continued, so would the other. When one ended...

There was fresh blood on Minato's hand.

Kushina saw and called for her child as her heart broke. "Naruto!"

The man in the orange masked looked on as his plans shattered but that was not the source of the horror in his voice. "Sensei... What have you done?"

Minato had no regrets. Again and again, he told himself this as he slipped away into the darkness.


	2. Chapter 2

When Sakura Haruno was born, the first thing her parents noticed about her was her hair. Little tufts of pink stood up from her head, combined with her reddened skin and newborn's scrunch face to make her look like... well, neither could say what she looked like, other than adorable.

"Maybe she'll be a ninja." her father said, his voice full of hope.

Unusual hair and eye color, pink for instance, were the earliest signs of the chakra capacity needed to become a ninja. Who wouldn't want something like that for their daughter? After all, they lived in a hidden village and the ninja were its elite, respected and near-worshipped by most of the civilian population.

Sakura's mother was less enthusiastic. "Perhaps." Her husband was a merchant. He saw only the power and prestige the ninja wielded but her aunt had been among their number and the new mother was well aware of the responsibility and the danger that went hand in hand. "If so, it must be her choice."

"Of course dear, of course."

Both parents smiled, content to let the future come when it was ready. For now, they were happy.

~ U ~

Three months later, it was October tenth. That was the night the Fourth Hokage died, the night the Village Hidden in the Leaves lost its beloved leader and heard the Fox's scream.

They were untrained civilians, as far from chakra sensitive as it was possible to get. Even so, the couple could **feel** the malice in that cry. It drove them to their knees, whimpering in pain and fear. Eventually, the awful feeling passes and they are free to move again. Their first thought is for their daughter. During the worst of it, she hadn't made a sound. They're both terrified, afraid they know why. Her father lowers his shaking hand, holds it just above her too-still face.

Three seconds, that's all it takes, but to her mother it's an eternity.

"She's breathing." he announces, relief washing through the both of them.

Without further discussion, the two leave their home in search of medical help. Breathing she may be, but their daughter is still far too still, too silent.

~ U ~

Six months later and their daughter is still silent. She's still too young to expect speech but the happy giggles, the childish noises, even simple crying... They worry for her. She doesn't seem to move much either, barely crawls when she should be struggling to walk.

It is not chakra capacity that determines one's suitability to be a medic-nin but control. Sensitivity to the ebb and flow of chakra is what makes a healer and their numbers were devestated that night. The Leaf is now forced to rely almost entirely on its civilian doctors. They can barely cope with the routine requirements of the ninja force's daily training injuries, far less mission casualties or the civilians' lesser issues.

A case like Sakura's, one lacking an obvious threat to life or limb... It's simply not a priority.

Her parents cope in different ways.

Her father throws himself into his work. Rarely home, he spends long hours in contract negotiations, inspecting merchandise and seeking out new trade opportunities. Unspoken is his desperate hope that if he succeeds, if he earns enough wealth, enough influence, enough power in any form...

Someone must be able to save his little girl.

His mother takes a different path. She spends all of her time with their daughter. Into the market when she shops for ingredients to make a dinner her husband won't be home to eat, out to the wall where the village's ninja work to remove the lingering signs of damage inflicted that night, she even takes her daughter along when she visits her friends at the public bath or their homes.

Others think she's trying to pretend nothing is wrong with the too-quiet girl. In truth, she's desperately searching, hoping to find the right stimulus.

Something must be able to wake her daughter up.

This day is a rare occasion, the family ventures out together. Today, the Acting Hokage will don the hat and robes, take the public oath and become the Fifth Hokage in law as well as fact. Her mother hopes the light and noise, the pageantry of the occasion will do the trick. Her father hopes to make contacts among the village's new bureaucracy, perhaps even to be named as a guild representative himself and join the civilian council that is rumored to be forming.

As dusk approaches, when fireworks light the sky, the Fifth reaches the climax of his acceptance speech. He does not promise that the Leaf will be rebuilt, that things will go back to the way they were. Instead, he vows the Leaf will soon be stronger than ever. They pay no attention to the vision he describes, of a Leaf that is feared across the Elemental Nations.

Sakura is laughing.

It takes long minutes for their joy-filled tears to subside enough for words. "You were right. She will be a ninja."

Her father shakes his head. "If it's what she wants. Anything she wants, I'll get it for her if she asks."

~ U ~

In the end, it isn't up to her or them.

Sakura is eleven months old when they're finally able to see a qualified medic-nin. She can talk now, a little, even walk and run. Sometimes. The man doesn't seem worried as they explain their fears, doesn't seem much of anything.

He has long hair, brown and straight. His skin is pale though not as pale as his eyes. They don't have any color at all, not even the pupils. They might have thought him blind if not for the confidence with which he moves around the exam room.

"Your daughter's condition is not unique, though her's is an unusually severe case." He pauses, considering. "Imagine staring into a bright light, the sun or an open flame. When you looked away, you'd have spots in your vision. If you looked too long, you might even be blinded for a time.

"Your daughter's coils... Are you familiar with the theory behind chakra manipulation?" Neither knows more than rumors or common superstition. "Then simply know that your daughter's chakra system is unusually sensitive. The... The night the..." They know which night he means, don't blame him for his reluctance to speak of it directly. "After exposure to that, the part of Sakura that interacts with her chakra is blinded, temporarily. Instinctively, anyone with access to chakra uses it to augment their bodies, to assist in movement, as well as muscular and neural development. The... withdrawal from that is the reason for her previous inactivity. She's already begun the process of recovery and it should be complete within a year."

"So she'll get better?" her father asks.

Her mother speaks before the medic can answer. "She'll be normal?"

The man gives a severe smile. "Sakura clearly has the potential to be a remarkable ninja, she'll never be normal. But yes, she will be healthy."

Healthy. That's the only word that Sakura's parents really hear, the only one they care about. They should have paid more attention to the one's that followed, the well practiced speech explaining that she'll be automatically enrolled in special classes and, eventually, the Shinobi Academy to be followed by a mandatory term of service not less than ten years.

They're just happy that their daughter will continue to run and laugh and smile.

~ U ~

At five, Sakura is still different from other children, quiet and shy.

Her parents worry, sometimes, but only discuss it when they think she won't know. They don't want to worry their little girl. Every day, they're reassured when she smiles at them or chatters about how much she enjoys her classes, especially History of the Village and Shinobi/Civilian Interaction. They know that every parent feels the same but, even so, they're convinced that their daughter is special, a genius.

They're correct, of course. Sakura isn't just bright or intelligent, she's brilliant. She sees everything that goes on around her and remembers all of it, even the things she doesn't understand yet, a category that shrinks every day. The girl doesn't know why, not exactly, but she sees the concern in her parents' faces when she mentions that she's lonely, doesn't have any friends. The pride and happiness when she tells them she got a perfect score on a test or that she enjoyed a given lecture is just as obvious.

Is it any wonder then that the descriptions Sakura gives her mother and father are... somewhat slanted? They're true, of course. Sakura loves her parents and would never lie to them. Even so, she makes sure to dwell on the kind words of her teachers and avoids mentioning the petty cruelties of her classmates. They'd much rather be told that she's being moved up to a higher reading group than that she's always the first one eliminated when the class plays Hide and Seek or Protect the Fortress.

That's why she's so excited today. She has a question to ask and she's certain it'll make them happy. "Mommy, Daddy? I... uh, I made a friend today. Is it okay if she has dinner with us?"

Her mother almost drops the plate she'd been cleaning. Her father is the first to speak though. "Of course Little Flower. What's your new friend's name? How did you meet her?"

Sakura ducks her head as she smiles. "Ino, her names Ino." (Yamanaka, she doesn't add. They might be nervous that a daughter of one of the most famous ninja families in the village is interested in her.) "She goes to school with me." (She's in the ninja only class, not Sakura's mixed civilian/ninja one.) "She... uh, she helped me when I was having an argument with some of the other girls on the playground today." (They'd been making fun of her, called her stupid because she never talked and a teacher's pet because she got a perfect score on the Uchiha/Senju Conflict test. The logic escaped Sakura but it'd still hurt.) "She's really brave and pretty and she always knows the right thing to say and everyone at school likes her! She's great!" (She's everything Sakura isn't.)

"Okay honey. Any friend of yours is always welcome here." Her mother is smiling as she answers.

Sakura leaves the kitchen and opens the front door where Ino's already waiting. It'd been the other girl's idea. She'd even worked out a plan for what to do if Sakura's parents had said no so that they'd have to change their mind when they found out she was right there.

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Haruno. I'm Ino, pleased to meet you!" she says happily.

~ U ~

At eight, Sakura is moved from the mixed school to the Shinobi Academy. She's done the research, knows what this means. Four years before she'll be able to see her parents again, four years before she can go home and four years with a dedicated training partner that she'll have to share her life with. Sakura's never been so scared of anything in her life. When she is shown her room, the tiny, bare place where she'll spend all of her time outside of training and classes, she's so happy to learn that her training partner is none other than Ino Yamanaka that she cries.


End file.
